Zanzibar

Mon 22nd Feb, Ferry to Mainland Dar, Tanzania
I woke up early and spent a great chunk of the morning walking around Stone Town and taking in the architecture. The streets and alleys were in close proximity of each other, and each one of the buildings had intricately decorated wooden doors, some of them seemingly too grand for the humble houses they lead into.

Then i sorted out my ferry tickets back to the mainland. I decided to stay only 2 days here since I want to reach Lamu before the 26th, and also because it was a bit silly walking about the city with no electricity. Staying in a hotel without light and fan was one thing, but as i was later to discover, visiting musuems and squinting at exhibits because they were not lighted up as they were supposed to be, can get annoying. Hence, i decided i would probably enjoy myself elsewhere along the coast, where hopefully it is not too hot!

Next, as mentioned, i made my way to Beit Al-Ajaib, which is the museum “of wonders”. The entry  was 3500 TSH and well worth it. I realised after Egypt’s museum that i like museums, and can easily spend hours in one. This one was no different. The inside had a large replica of an old Swahili boat, mtwempe (or something), that was reconstructed in the middle of the building. Elsewhere, the Swahili history, culture and travels were recreated as exhibits and informative entries. The first floor was all about the dhow routes, travels up and along the indian ocean, as well as the swahili dress, lifestyle, festivals, food. I especially liked the bit where the link in history between cultures meant that 25% of the Swahili language is of arabic origin, mostly modified, and even some comparisons with Swahili and portugese. Like flag is bendera in swahili, and bandeira in portugese. I add mine mentally to the list: Bendera is flag in malay as well! There’s something to learn from here. Others: Pump is bomba in both Swahili and Portugese, while in malay bomba is fireman/fire brigade. Table is mesa in Swahili and Portugese, and meja in Malay. Fascinating indeed.

The other thing of note are the doors and plaques in the building. Inscribed with the names of God, the doors were really grand and a sight to behold. These wooden doors were carved in exquisite detail on every available space. And since it was not a boring flat door, but layered with arches, there was arabic inscriptions on the inner wall and the underside of the arch as well, which i only noticed when i took photos in the light.

Upstairs on the 2nd floor was an exhibition about Sayidda Salme, a Zanzibari princess who wrote a books about her experiences as a princess living in Zanzibar, and later about letters home, when she moved to Germany with her husband. Her point of view was interesting because it was the first from a local perspective, since all other accounts of the island prior to that were those of European visitors.

The third floor lead to the balcony, upon which i could see brilliant views of the sea, the forodhani garden, and the old fort below. I then made my way to the impressive Ijumaa Mosque, renovated many times in history, most recently with Dubai contribution. Being muslim helped and i remained in the mosque after commual Asar prayers, taking pictures of the mihrab and the interior.

After grabbing some street food for dinner, i wasnt’ sure what it was. Looks like grilled satay meat in hot potato soup, but it tastes delicious (1000 TSH), i picked up my bag and made my way to the ferry terminal (tix was 20 USD). This time though, the VIP lounge had air con on, and dimly lighted. I slept well on the couch, even though i was blighted by the noisy tv blaring over the speakers directly above me. It was a night boat, we got in at 8pm, i got comfortable and slept, probably the boat left around 9.30pm, and somehow we reached mainland only at 6am. How this was possible, the boat here took 3.5 hours for the same distance, i never knew.

Sun 21st Feb, Haven Guesthouse, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar, the name brings to mind other similarly mythical sounding places like Timbuktu (that exists too!). The island however, was just a four hour boat ride away now. In ancient times, the Zanzibar kingdom was ruled by the Omani king, who shifted his capital here. It was also on the dhow trading route along the Indian Ocean, from Madagascar to Arabia, to India, to Indonesia and around peninsula Malaysia, all the way up to China. They traded everything from spices, slaves and   jewellery.

Upon boarding the Flying Horse, i was ushered to the VIP section. Not bad, all foreigners by default get sent here, where you get to sit in armchairs, as opposed to the regimented seats down below. Unfortunately, they must have forgotten to turn up the aircon, so the VIPs basically were trying not to suffocate throughout. It was also crowded, locals got themselves comfortable and lay down on every bit of available floor.

We reached Stone Town’s harbour at around 4pm, and it was completely different from mainland. The streets of Stone Town were narrow cobblestoned alleyways. Zanzibar town is built for tourism, but it retains an old world charm. I made my way to the guest houses south of stone town. The Haven Guesthouse was 18000 TSH, pretty costly, as per all hotels in Tanzania i’ve noticed. Also, there was no electricity on the whole island. Three months ago, the underground cable was cut and they only expected it to be fully repaired in maybe a week’s time. Hence, any place without their own generator (like my hotel) would be in complete darkness at night. I was a bit silly and should have gone for a slightly more expensive place with electricity, but it all worked out, because i could leave my luggage at the hotel the next day for 8 hrs for no charge.

The Stone Town itself wasn’t exactly a large place. It was evening so i just made my way to Forodhani gardens, a open air park by the sea. Locals and tourists alike were there, soaking in the atmosphere and the windy surrounds. Stalls were set up selling everything from BBQ barracuda, zanzibar pizza, sugar cane. I must have taken too much sugar cane, for i ended up with a mild case of the runs. Immodium is the best single piece of medication. It was pretty much relaxation at its best, youths were jumping 2m into the sea,

After dinner, i made my way back to the hotel. There wasn’t much to do without electricity, so i just figured it would be better to sleep early and then wake up early. Malaria’s a risk here at the coast, so i hid underneath my mosquito net all night. It was terribly hot though, since the ceiling fan was not working. I tried everything, i woke up in the middle of the night, took a shower, stuck a wet towel atop my head, all useless until i just left the window open to let in some fresh air, and in the process probably dozens of mosquitoes as well.